ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The New Haven women's volleyball team will play its third tournament in as many weekends, traveling to the Empire State for four matches at the Roberts Wesleyan College Invitational. The Chargers open with a pair of game Friday at 2:00 against Daemen and at 6:30 p.m. against the host Redhawks. Saturday the Blue and Gold wrap up tournament play with back-to-back matches against Stonehill and D'Youville at 11:00 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. respectively.
SCOUTING THE CHARGERS (3-4, 0-0 NE10)
New Haven enters Friday after going 2-1 last weekend at the Post Eagles Invitational. Junior outside Emily Barry (Freeport, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) leads the attack thus far with 91 kills, which also the fifth-best mark in the Northeast-10 Conference (NE10). Just behind her in that category is freshman outside Macy Brown (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac) with 88. Freshman setter Sophie Leon-Tabor has controlled the offense for the Blue and Gold all year, with 287 assists in seven matches this season, with her average of 9.90 assists per set good enough for fifth in the conference. Defensively, sophomore outside Rilee Jessee (Edinburgh, Ind,/Columbus East) has tallied 135 digs so far this season, while senior Asiya Way (Denver, Colo./Denver East) continues her dominance at the tape with 25 blocks this season.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS (4-3, 0-0 ECC)
The first team the Chargers will face Friday afternoon, Daemen enters the tournament 4-3 as well, coming off a pair of wins at the Cavalier Invitational in North Canton, OH. Leading the Wildcats offense are outside Caitlyn Meyer with 101 kills this season and setter Olivia Alessi with 242 assists on the year. On the defensive end, Jasmine Brundage leads her side in digs with 114, while Loren Alberts has posted 16 blocks thus far, leading a trio of Daemen players with double digit rejections this year.
SCOUTING THE REDHAWKSÂ (0-5, 0-0 ECC)
Looking for the first win of 2021, the Roberts Wesleyan stands at 0-5 on the year, with the most recent loss at the hands of Le Moyne Wednesday. Emily Rowlison leads the attack with 22 kills, four ahead Lauren Norwood with 18. Madison Truong has dished out a team-high 47 assists from the setter position. Defensively, the Redhawks are led by Teagan Weber with 31 assists, just ahead of Truong with 22.
SCOUTING THE SKYHAWKSÂ (2-4, 0-0 NE10)
Fellow NE10 member Stonehill enters the weekend 2-4 on the year, after picking up a pair of wins in a non-conference tri-match with Assumption and Southern New Hampshire last Saturday. The Skyhawks offense is led by Abby Remick at the net with 51 kills and Lauren Wilke who has dished out 137 assists this season. Defensively, Carly Russell leads the team with 82 digs, and Shannon Burgess tops the stat sheet in blocks with 14 total on the year including four solo rejections.
SCOUTING THE SAINTS (0-4, 0-0 ECC)
D'Youville heads to Rochester in search of the first win of this season, after going 0-4 at the Fairmont State Tournament in West Virginia the first weekend of September. Leading on the offensive end is Eve Musielak with 26 kills on the year. Emma Wlostowski joins her in the Saints' attack as the team's setter, with 93 assists thus far. Defensively, Samantha Killane and outside Kelly Cleversley are tied for the team lead with 35 digs in 2021.
CHARGERS PICKED FOURTH IN PRE-SEASON COACHES POLL
Upon the release of the NE10's annual pre-season coaches' poll, New Haven was selected to finish fourth amongst the 14 teams in the conference, receiving 131 points.
BARRY, AKIONA NAMED TO ALL-TOURNEY TEAM IN OPENING WEEKEND
Junior outside Emily Barry (Freeport, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) (Freeport, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) and junior outside Jessica Akiona (Kapolei, Hawaii/La Pietra- Hawaii School for Girls) (Kapolei, Hawaii/La Pietra- Hawaii School for Girls) were both named to the all-tournament team at the Tony Banner Memorial Tournament last weekend. Barry totaled 53 kills, 53 digs, 6 assists, and three solo blocks across the four matches, while Akiona tallied 50 kills, 12 digs, and five block assists.
BROWN NABS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK HONORS IN COLLEGIATE DEBUT
With 50 kills last weekend, including 26 in her collegiate debut freshman outside Macy Brown (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac) (Cadillac, Mich./Cadillac) was named Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Week honors in Week one of the 2021 volleyball season. The 26 kills from Brown are the most by a player at New Haven since September 24, 2011 when Keidy Candelaria matched that number against Franklin Pierce.
Up Next
With 11 games already under their belt, the Chargers will host their first game in the friendly confines of Charger Gymnasium on Tuesday, when they welcome American International. The first home contest in nearly two years, first serve from North Campus is scheduled for just after 7:00 p.m. Live stream coverage as well as live stats will be available at NewHavenChargers.com.
